Today in Washington D. C. - Feb 5, 2010 - "Scott Brown is seated and hell freezes over!"

The Senate and House are in recess. Most members fled D.C. ahead of the pending heavy snow storm. The Senate is scheduled to return Monday at 2 PM and Sen. Reid has scheduled at 5 PM a cloture vote on the nomination of former SEIU lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Becker’s nomination is controversial due to concerns Democrats want to enact parts of their stalled card check bill through the regulatory process on the NLRB. Craig Becker's background present a basis for numerous potential conflicts of interest on the NLRB. Yesterday, the Senate voted 60-37 to confirm Patricia Smith as solicitor for the Labor Department. The Senate also voted 96-0 to confirm the nomination of Martha Johnson to head the General Services Administration.

Yesterday, we mentioned Senator McConnell speech on terrorism policy at the Heritage Foundation. Again, McConnell said the Obama administration “has too often put symbolism over security. This is a very dangerous route. And it reflects a deeper problem; namely, the return of the old idea that terrorism should be treated as a law-enforcement matter. An administration that puts the attorney general in charge of interrogating, detaining, and trying foreign combatants has a pre-9/11 mindset.”

The decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to try 9/11 conspirators such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian courts in New York City has been roundly criticized as dangerous and short-sighted. Now, a new article in the New Yorker reveals a very interesting situation. Apparently White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel opposed Holder’s decision in this case. An “informed source” told the New Yorker, “Rahm felt very, very strongly that it was a mistake to prosecute the 9/11 people in the federal courts, and that it was picking an unnecessary fight with the military-commission people.” Unfortunately, the article goes on to explain that Emanuel’s opposition stemmed largely from political reasons, since it would alienate key senators he thought might support closing Guantanamo Bay.

As suspected, the White House appears to be putting a priority on political concerns over the security issues in the War on Terror. Earlier this week, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), the vice chairman of the intelligence committee, says he was told by the FBI that the Christmas day bomber was apparently providing intelligence once again (after a 5 week gap that began when he was told he had the right to remain silent). In a letter to President Obama, Bond wrote, “FBI officials stressed the importance of not disclosing the fact of his cooperation in order to protect on-going and follow-on operations to neutralize additional threats to the American public.” Bond continued, “Twenty-four hours later, however, White House staff assembled members of the media to announce Abdulmutallab’s cooperation and to laud the events that led to his decision to cooperate with law enforcement personnel. This information immediately hit the air waves globally and, no doubt, reached the ears of our enemies abroad.”

As Sen. McConnell said, “Hasty decisions and sudden policy reversals rattle the confidence not only of the American people, but also the brave Americans who execute these policies. And they rattle the confidence of our partners overseas.” The Obama administration needs to put symbolism and political considerations on the back burner and put intelligence and successfully preventing terror attacks as the first priorities in the War on Terror.

Speaking of symbolism, let's end the week with some humor. The following humorous "Tweet" about Washington. D.C. made the rounds today: "28 inches of snow for DC? Scott Brown is seated and hell freezes over!" By the way, if conservative follow this twitter: @arra.

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Tags: Eric Holder, Mitch McConnell, Scott Brown, terrorism, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!